


Only a man in funny red sheet

by mAd_parnes



Category: Smallville
Genre: M/M, Old-school-clex, Prophetic Dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-26
Updated: 2014-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 21:10:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2362259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mAd_parnes/pseuds/mAd_parnes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth.</p><p>                                                                                                                     ~Aldous Huxley</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only a man in funny red sheet

 

 

**Only a man in a funny red sheet**

 

by Joseph Shea & Francis Cain

 

 

He woke startled by a train driving by his window.

Fact aside, that no train could drive beside the window of his castle he stood up, intending to close said window.

But then he saw something there, far away in the sky. No bird, nor a plane, too big and too little. And too red.

The only thing he could make out was that it flew towards him.

Without time passing it stood right in front of him and his eyes adjusting, he identified the well-known face.

„Clark?“

No impression crossed the worn features. Yet he had the feeling, that there was emotion, too deep inside to fight its way out.

„It has been a long time since you called me by my name, Luthor.“

His confusion increased, for he called Clark by his name only some hours ago. He had the feeling his otherwise brilliant mind missed something.

„This is a dream within a dream within a memory that never happened.“

Clark spoke in riddles, nothing new there, but this being a dream made sense. Why else would Clark appear before his bedroom window, older and flying, in tights, not to forget the tights. He wondered, what fucked up part of his psyche thought up the tights, when Clark did something unexpected.

Only with his fingertips, he touched Lex face.

Lex remembered.

The first time his angel touched his face, to make it better, to let him know he's not alone, he's saved. That little child that gave so much, only with one touch...Was this a memory?

„I always wanted to tell you. Back in these first days of our legend.“

Before this words there was no emotion. But now, a great deal of emotion. Regret, scoff, scorn, mourning...

„What? What do you wanted to tell me?“, Lex asked, sounding breathless in a dream which required no air.

„Everything, everything from your first sputtering of truth, that _you hit me with the car.“_

„I did not, you are not unbreakable, I've seen you hurt-“

„Lies!“, shouted Clark to his face and he felt the wave of power move over him and the thought crossed his mind and it triggered something in Clark. For a split second he looked young, distressed, forlorn.

„You already learned to fear me.“ he said and Lex thought he never seen someone that beautiful when sad. „Fearing me, without even knowing what I can do.“, ended Clark and floated some inches away, put distance between them, but that was not what Lex wanted, he reached out...

And woke up.

 

&&&

 

The red cape flapped around like an angry wing and Lex found himself scared to ruin the dream, to breathe, to reach out and have Clark vanishing like last night.

He knew it was a dream. He knew it meant nothing. But this Clark was truthful to him, in a hurtful, confusing way, but truthful nonetheless.

There was no ill meaning in Clark's cruelty, just as like these days, nothing but good in him, so good Lex wanted to scream.

“We are enemies, bound together in an eternal war.”, Clark explained.

After a while he added. “You taught me everything about war. Remember our first real conversation, how you suggested that I should have let Whitney die?”

He remembered, it wasn't so long ago and he saw Clark's reaction to that statement as if it happened right now.

“I was joking.”

“No you spoke your heart.”, Clark said coldly. “You would kill to keep the one you love.”

The last part did not sound as an accusation. More like admiration. “You loved me? Back then.”, it was no question, no matter how it was delivered, it was a stated fact, a law of nature, a last grasp in lost voice.

Lex did not answer, there was no necessity to do so, he waited, still and breathless, for the wrong stroke of a butterfly's wing would ruin everything.

“What do you desire most, Luthor?”, Clark asked, without sounding curious. “I'll give it to you, in this dream I am allowed to give anything to you. Everything possible, no consequences.” And with that words Clark leaned in close, his lips brushing Lex' ear, and whispered fluid poison into his soul.

Lex woke up carefully, bearing a truth so dangerous and powerful, that he had no doubt of it's validity.

He had to think. No sleep would be found this night.

Alone he strode the black corridors of the castle and planned his next move.

 

&&&

 

Clark looked so genuinely happy when he entered the library. Chattered away the silence in an attempt to get him to help Lana. His friend/queen of hearts was in trouble and still Clark managed to radiate happiness like a warm sunny day.

No one would see the weight that rested on these shoulders, kept his gravity so he did not float over the heads of mere mortals. No one thought of a hero as someone whose allowed to bleed. Whose caught in a cloud of dreams, imagining up a normal life. Who wants to be weak.

Clark sitting at the couch, send him his pleading look, the one which makes Lex want to tease him, make him blush and touch him, maybe break him, only a little.

Only so much that no one else would want him and he would belong to Lex.

He smiled at Clark's confused puppy tilt of head, eyes questioning why his friend did not answer him and he touched. Because he could.

Because this Clark was young and real and to his mercy without even knowing it.

He thought about kissing him hard.

Turning a friendly touch in a grope.

Closeness into molestation.

Trust into defensiveness.

Turning their friendship into something less dangerous for Clark.

But he remembered the sorrowful eyes of the invulnerable hero when he spoke to him. To the Lex Luther he believed a memory, a vision, a safe Fata Morgana to talk to.

But it hadn't been a dream.

The Clark of here and now seemed scared and Lex did not even really do something other than dread his fingers trough that rich, dark locks.

He also seemed exited and curious, like whatever Lex would do or say or give to him, would be something he wanted.

There was something terrible calming in absolute power. He never thought being in total control would feel like the moment before you realize you overdosed. He knew that feeling and he knew, that you cannot balance on the brink forever.

Clark's grin softened into a smile and drew him over the edge. „Have you listened to anything I tried to tell you?“

„Was it important?“ Lex countered and rested his hand on Clark's neck. Clark let him, but he could feel the powerful muscles tense, so he retrieved his hand.

„I was asking you if you could-“

„Yes. Whatever it is, I can. And you should know by now that I am unable to say no to you.“

That made Clark laugh. Lex sat down beside him, also amused, the truth of his words pathetic to some peoples opinion, but not to Clark. „You don't even know what you agreed agreed to do.“ Clark stated, laughing and suddenly concerned. „Where is your mind, Lex?“

He could lie.

He could break the topic tomorrow.

Hold the secret dear for many years, watching Clark struggle.

„An old friend visited me last night. He said something that...“, he had not thought that sentence to it's end. What could he say, that would not give too much away?

„Was it bad news?“ Clark's concern grew, for he knew that Lex normally was not short of words.

„Depends.“ On Lex and no one but him. „He placed himself in my hands.“

He sat silently waiting, but Clark did not see anything bad in that so he explained, „He surrendered to me. Gave me the power to shape his life, his destiny into whatever I want him to be.”

He had not long to wait for the trustfulness to be formed in words, “I would say he's in good hands, Lex.”

He smirked, Clark, so predictable. “My friend thinks differently.”

Brows furrowed, demanded more than just this hint.

“He thinks that I will break him.”

“Why would he-”

“Maybe he wants to be broken.”

Clark would not understand this, too young, too naive. For him life still shone new and bright. But maybe not, maybe he was ripe for his first draining.

“What did he say, I mean, did he say that? In those words?” Clark asking, not understanding.

 _He breathed to my ear that he wants to be bled dry a sacrifice to my feet._ “He said he wanted me to be his limitation.”

„This sounds as like your friend is afraid to be responsible for what he does.“

A hard judgment by someone who should know better, which explained the insecurity in Clark's voice. He merely recited, perhaps his father. Lex could envisage Jonathan Kent giving such black and white advise, not realizing which color the topic had.

But Clark knew the shades of red, “Or he thinks you can help him stay grounded.”

Closer to the point. “Yes, he can't stand to fly.”

Clark thought it a joke and picked it up, “Me too, I am afraid of heights.”

Lex did not join the laugh and Clark sobered up quickly. “What will you do?” he asked, a good friend that he is, not leaving Lex alone with his disturbing reflections.

„You know what I would do for my friends.“ Plural, as if he had more than one.

„Even hurt them?“ Clark expected a no.

„Yes.“

“That's not you.” So certain.

“Maybe he knows me better than you do.”

Jealousy. It crossed Clark's features and was gone, nearly too fast for the human eye.

“I know that no friend should want you to do something so wrong.”

He wished for the words to make Clark understand.

Not Lex was in need of saving.

“It is not wrong. It is a burden I am destined to carry. Because I am not afraid to make him bleed, to make him human.”

Fear. To be found out, flickering, and neglected.

“If he had not made me his limitation, I would have seized this task without consent.”

It was time to tell.

"Not today or tomorrow, but he told me there came a day we stopped being balance to each other and started a war, which left one of us kneeling, facing the gravestones of his loved ones.”

He met Clark's eyes – the dawn of understanding and the dusk of falsehood. What a brave new world for both of them.

 

 

 

End

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This little piece is a piece of history. It is the first English text Jo and me produced together. Our English developed over the last years, his more than mine and now we are ready to have it even more improved. Therefore we search beta-readers. Requirements:  
> You should be a native speaker(American English) and love to read about Clex.   
> Our WIP is currently 86 000 words long and growing. Carefully estimated I would guess, it will not exceed the 150 000 words when we are done. It is told purely from Lex' perspective and an AU version of the first Seasons. It has a little bit of everything, drama, action, comedy, more than a little romance, some smut and healthy portion of insanity.   
> I understand correcting a story this long seems like a lot of work. I am not going to lie, it is, but without false modesty I have to say the story is worth it. Especially since none of us, not even me and I care about good grammar more than the others, but even I have realized it is not our major problem to find every little mistake.   
> It would be fine for a beta-reader to ameri-pick(I recently discovered this term and I am madly in love with it) our story and give the way the characters talk a thought. Grammer, spelling and suchlike can be neglected, can be perfected, but slang, character specific idioms we created, this needs a native speaker's ear.   
> The goal is to improve our English as a whole, not just our grammar. So far our muse has helped us, but English is only her second language and she has reached her limits.   
> She is handling the corrections and will forward your messages to me. Please contact her over the comments first. She will follow those.   
> I hope you enjoyed our little story and I would be pleased to share the other with you too.   
> Sincerely, Francis.


End file.
